Interview with Colleen Coble
about "Fire Dancer"

Added November 3, 2006

Joyce: In The Library Reviews welcomes Colleen Coble!

Your most recent novel Fire Dancer is a wonderful combination of suspense and mystery, with the perfect touch of romance. It seems your books offer something to fans of all three genres! Yet, you also include a sensitive reminder of God's goodness. Would you consider yourself to be a writer of Christian fiction or a Christian writer who writes fiction?

Colleen:I consider myself a Christian writer who writes fiction. I remember back when I first told God I wanted to write. What I craved were stories that came from a Christian worldview that didn't have a subtle contempt for God woven through. I don't write preachy stories, but my view of how the world operates definitely shines through. And I want it that way.

Joyce:The details about smoke jumping were fascinating. I especially enjoyed how you portrayed the dangers as well as the fascination of this profession. How did the idea for this series develop? Why smoke jumping? (I usually find myself learning about something new in your books!)

Colleen:I like to hear that, Joyce! Anytime I write a book, it springs from some passion or interest that grabs me first. If it doesn't really grab me, then I know I'll never sustain enough interest to write it-or interest my readers. I've always been fascinated/terrified by fire. After 9/11 I so admired firefighters of all types. I happened to read an article written by a female smoke jumper and I was intrigued at how a woman would handle this mostly male profession. Then I saw on the news that a firefighter in Arizona had been setting the forest fires. I wanted to explore why someone would do that. Creepy!

Joyce:How did you research this subject?

Colleen:I wish I could say I jumped out of a plane, but I'm too chicken! I read tons of books on the subject, watched a documentary on it. I even talked with a female smoke jumper.

Joyce:In the acknowledgments, you mentioned that you love Arizona, which was the setting for this story. Can you tell us more about your feelings for this part of the country?

Colleen:There's something in Arizona that speaks to my blood. I first went there to visit my aunt in 1976 It felt like coming home. The harsh beauty, the mountains and deserts, they all grabbed me from the first visit. My daughter, my brother, some aunts and cousins all live there so we've gone out at least once or twice a year for thirty years. We've just recently bought some land up in Peeples Valley and hope to move there one day.

Joyce:I understand you have Native American blood in you. Readers were given a glimpse into their culture in this book. What would you like your audience to know about Native Americans?

Colleen:I really admire the way so many Native Americans have managed to maintain their culture in the face of opposition.

Joyce: In the Aloha Reef series, favorite characters were featured in each book. Since Fire Dancer is the first book in the Smoke Jumpers series, what characters can readers look forward to seeing in the next book?

Colleen:Actually Fire Dancer is a standalone. We'd initially structured it as a series, but after discussions with my publishing house, we decided to begin to move more to single title for me. We may do a sequel to Fire Dancer though because I'd love to finish out Buck's story after he was burned. So keep checking my website, and we'll see where we go from here!

Joyce:Thank you Colleen Coble, for answering a few questions!

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